Biomaterial Database

Nursing home policies addressing the use or withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatments. 1988

S H Miles, and C F Gomez, and N R Zweibel, and C K Cassel

Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Faculty Scholar, Section of General Internal Medicine, University of Chicago, Illinois.

There has been increasing interest in the use of nursing home policies and guidelines to improve decisions about the elective use of life-sustaining treatments. Such policies should be based on a sound and complete understanding of the legal and ethical governance responsibilities of health care facilities. Policies should address both the process of decision making and treatment plan implementation. Nursing home administrators should commission policies and monitor their implementation.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008020	Life Support Care	Care provided patients requiring extraordinary therapeutic measures in order to sustain and prolong life.	Extraordinary Treatment,Prolongation of Life,Care, Life Support,Extraordinary Treatments,Life Prolongation,Treatment, Extraordinary,Treatments, Extraordinary
D009735	Nursing Homes	Facilities which provide nursing supervision and limited medical care to persons who do not require hospitalization.	Homes, Nursing,Nursing Home
D010347	Patient Care Planning	Usually a written medical and nursing care program designed for a particular patient.	Nursing Care Plans,Goals of Care,Plans, Nursing Care,Care Goal,Care Goals,Care Plan, Nursing,Care Planning, Patient,Care Plans, Nursing,Nursing Care Plan,Plan, Nursing Care,Planning, Patient Care
D011050	Policy Making	The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.	Analysis, Policy,Policy Analysis,Policy Development,Analyses, Policy,Development, Policy,Developments, Policy,Making, Policy,Policy Analyses,Policy Developments
D003659	Decision Making, Organizational	The process by which decisions are made in an institution or other organization.	Organizational Decision Making
D005065	Euthanasia	The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)	Mercy Killing,Killing, Mercy,Killings, Mercy,Mercy Killings
D005066	Euthanasia, Passive	Failing to prevent death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy by the withdrawal or withholding of life-prolonging treatment.	Allowing to Die,Euthanasia, Negative,Negative Euthanasia,Passive Euthanasia
D006284	Health Plan Implementation	Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.	Health Plan Implementations,Implementation, Health Plan,Implementations, Health Plan,Plan Implementation, Health,Plan Implementations, Health
D006291	Health Policy	Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.	Health Care Policies,Health Policies,Healthcare Policy,National Health Policy,Care Policies, Health,Health Care Policy,Health Policy, National,Healthcare Policies,National Health Policies,Policies, Health,Policies, Health Care,Policies, Healthcare,Policy, Health,Policy, Health Care,Policy, Healthcare
D006707	Homes for the Aged	Geriatric long-term care facilities which provide supervision and assistance in activities of daily living with medical and nursing services when required.	Old Age Homes,Residential Aged Care Facility,Senior Housing,Home, Old Age,Homes, Old Age,Housing, Senior,Old Age Home